Project Spartan Spear

SJSU students strive to design and test a 3D printed liquid fuel rocket engine to push the boundaries of the aerospace industry

Help support their Kickstarter Campaign:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1092366470/project-spartan-spear

Purpose

Our goal is to create a launch vehicle to provide a faster and cheaper delivery service for CubeSats (Nano-satellites).

Who are we?

We are a group of Aerospace Engineering students at San Jose State University. We are creating this project as our senior design project.

Why are we doing this?

San Jose State University is well known for their involvement with CubeSat development. The difficult part about developing CubeSats isn’t the actual construction of the Nano-satellite, but rather the transportation of getting them into space. The application and petition process alone could take years before satellites can be launched in space. We want to aid our fellow students as well as anyone who is constructing a Nano-satellite by reducing the costs and time required to get their projects in space.

What are the costs to complete the project?

To build a full scale rocket, we would need roughly $150k-$200k. Considering the costs and the time required to build this project, we as a team will first be attempting to create the engine for the rocket. The engine costs include:
3D Print Cost for injector: $3,000
Electronics: $1,000
Fuel (Kerosene): $500
Oxidizer (98% Hydrogen Peroxide): $1,000
Propellant Tanks: $8,000
Inconel Metal for Combustion Chamber and Nozzle: $1,000
Stainless Steel for Coolant Tubes: $500
Machine Shop Use: $1,000
Static Test Price: $3,000Total Cost: $19,000

We are asking for $25,000 to overcome the Kickstarter fees so we don’t fall financially short of our goal.

Risks and challenges

The biggest challenge that may hinder us from completing our project is money. We have full confidence in our capability to design and build a liquid fuel rocket. Without the financial resources required to pay for the components of our project, we won’t be able to complete both our goal to provide a faster transportation service for satellites, as well as our senior design project required to graduate.